The Promise Of The Transfiguration

Sunt quidam de hic stantibus qui non gustabunt mortem donec videant Filium hominis venientem in regno suo. Sermo itaque et promissio omnipotentis Dei, omni est repleta gaudio et consolatione in spe futurorum, eo quo sperare poterant omnes, qui prius promiserat universis de futuro; dum hic lici paucis, se firmat ostensurum, venientem in regno suo, antequam de proximo mortem gustarent. Et hoc quidem quia in ea claritate se tansformavit in monte coram discipulis, quos secum assumpsit, in qua venturum se promiserat in gloria Patris cum angelis suis. Et notandum quia regnum Christi, in quo venturus erat, ut eum viderent venientem in regno suo, ipse est gloria Patris; quia sicut regnum Christi, Patris est regnum: ita et gloria Patris Christi est gloria, quae ostenda est in monte, licet paucis, ut et ipsi qui viderant et caeteri qui audierant, illis repromissa se vidisse demum narrantibus, firmarentur ad fidem de filio hominis, quia visus est in gloria, quod ipse esset verus Filius Dei qui et filius hominis. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber VIII, Caput XVI Source: Migne PL 120.575a-b

There are some standing here who shall not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. 1 This speech and promise of almighty God is full of all joy and comfort and hope for the future, because all are able to hope in what He promised for everyone in the future, while here it is given to a few whom He strengthens by showing them His coming in His kingdom before they taste death. And this is because He transfigured Himself in that brightness on the mount before His disciples who He took up with Him, in which He promised His coming in the glory of the Father and His angels. And it must be noted that the kingdom of Christ in which He shall come, so that they shall see Him coming in His kingdom, is the glory of the Father, because the kingdom of Christ is as the kingdom of the Father and thus the glory of the Father is the glory of the Son, which was shown on the mount to a few, so that they who saw and others who heard, who were told by those who saw what was promised, would be strengthened in faith concerning the Son of Man, because He was seen in His glory, that He is the Son of God who is the Son of Man. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 8, Chapter 16 1 Mt 16.28

Death And Life

Mortui enim estis, et vita vestra abscondita est cum Christo in Deo. Apud mundi sensum mortuus Christus videtur, et discipuli ejus, cum constet vivere illum cum his omnibus. Idcirco carnalibus ac mundanis abscondita est vita Christi et suorum in Deo extra mundum, in regno ejus coelesti, in quo vivunt. Cum Christus apparuerit vita vestra, tunc et vos apparebitis cum illo in gloria. Vita nostra Christus est; quia legimus in Actis apostolorum hunc esse vitae auctorem, qui a perfidis non creditur futurus judex. Cum autem advenerit in virtute coelesti, et visus fuerit esse, quod minime credebatur, tunc apparebunt cum illo etiam qui crediderunt in illum; et manifestabitur omni perfidiae, quia vivit cum suis in gloria. Haec consolatio fiduciam spei parit; ut securi de futura vita, omnia postponentes, Christum sequamur. Ambrosiaster, Commentaria In Epistolam ad Colossenses, Caput III Source: Migne PL 17.434b-c

For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 1 According to the understanding of the world Christ seems to be dead, and likewise His disciples, yet it is certain He lives on with all of them. Therefore the life of Christ and His followers is hidden to the carnal and the worldly in God outside the world. When Christ your life shall appear, then even you shall appear with Him in glory. Christ is our life, because we read in the Acts of the Apostles that He is the creator of life, He who the faithless do not believe will be the future judge. 2 But when He shall come in the power of heaven and He is seen, which few believed, then those who have believed in Him shall appear with Him, and every faithlessness shall be exposed, because He lives with His followers in glory. This is the consolation of firm hope, so that confident of the future we may set aside all other things and follow Christ. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Letter to The Colossians, Chapter 3 1 Colos 3.2 2 Acts 3.15

For The Benefit Of Souls

Ita ut elegit nos in ipso ane constitiutionem mundi, ut essemus sancti.. Ergo mysterio quod hic implevit, et carne, et cruce, et morte, et resurrectione, subventum est animis: etsi in Christo fides sumatur, ille suscipit hujusmodi animas et adjuvat et liberat. Christum enim credere, et in Christum fidem sumere, jam spiritaliter sentire, et jam tolli a desideriis carnalibus et materialibus: et ex hoc veluti cognatio intelligendi nos jungit et sociat Christo: et dum Christo sociaverit, inquit, et Deo. Per Christum enim Deo jungimur, neque spes ulla salutis nostrae nisi Christum credere. Hoc est spiritaliter jam sentire, et capere sensum, et mundi et materiae motibus non exagitari: quibus omnibus homo totus in spiritu vero est, et ex hoc jam in Christo est vita: cum autem in Christo vita est; jam mysterio acto a Christo recipimur, et per Christum in numerum filiorum suscipimur a Deo, spiritales facti, ut nos quoque de mundo resurgamus et de morte per Dei voluntatem, sed in Christo tamen. Hoc enim et nunc, et saepe et ubique praecipitur, ut in Christo tota sit vita nostra, tota spes, totus intelligendi labor. Omnis enim ratio aeternitatis nostrae et gloriae et salvationis, et Christus est, et in Christo est, si projicientes omnia spiritaliterque sentientes, separemus a nobis mundanas cogitationes, mundanos affectus, carnalia quodammodo desideria, carnales dignitates, carnales potestates, et mundi etiam velle potentias vel dignitates. Omne enim quidquid mundanum est, licet coeleste sit in mundo etiam vel aetherium vel quodlibet aliud divinum nominatur secundum mundum et aeternum, sed secundum mundum tamen, neque divinum est neque aeternum est; etenim materiale: et quicquid materiale est, et temporale est et caducum et corruptibile. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Primus, Caput I Source: Migne PL 8.1240c-1241a

Thus He chose us before the establishment of the world, so that we would be holy... 1 Therefore in a mystery He fulfills it, and the flesh and the cross and the death and the resurrection were for the benefit of souls. Even if we have taken up faith in Christ, He is the one who takes up souls and helps and frees them. For to believe in Christ and to take up faith in Christ is to understand spiritually, and so to be taken from carnal desires and things. And from this, with a certain likeness of understanding, we are joined and associated with Christ, and while we associate with Christ, he says, it is also with God. For it is through Christ that we are joined to God, and there is no hope of salvation unless to believe in Christ. This is to understand spiritually, and to grasp the sense, and not to be troubled by the changes of the world and matter, because of which the whole man becomes truly spiritual, and through this there is now life in Christ, and when there is life in Christ we are received by Christ in mystery, and through Him we are taken up into the number of the sons of God, having been made spiritual, so that we also rise up from the earth and from death by the will of God, but in Christ. Indeed here and now, and often and everywhere, it is exhorted that our whole life, our whole hope, the whole work of our understanding, should be in Christ. For every cause of our eternity and glory and salvation is Christ, and is in Christ, if advancing in all spiritual understanding we separate ourselves from worldly thought, and from worldly loves, and from every carnal desire and honour and power, and every office and dignity of the world. For everything worldly, even if named celestial, ethereal, or divine, is named according to the world and eternity, but according to the world there is nothing divine nor anything eternal, for matter, and whatever is of matter, is transient, and passes away and is corruptible. Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book One, Chapter One 1 Ephes 1.4

Keeping The Lamp Lit

Non exstinguitur lucerna eius tota nocte. Nemo accendit lucernam et ponit sub modio. Tu illuminabis lucernam meam Domine. Lucerna eius, spes eius. Ad illam operatur omnis homo, quidquid boni ad spem facit. Et in nocte ardet lucerna ista. Si enim quod non videmus speramus, ideo nox est. Si autem et non videmus et non speramus, et nox est et lucerna non ardet. Quid infelicius talibus tenebris? Ut autem non deficiamus in tenebris et per patientiam exspectemus quod non visum speramus, tota nocte ardeat lucerna nostra. Qui enim nobis quotidie loquitur verbum tamquam oleum infundit ne lucerna exstinguatur. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo XXXVII, Sermo Habitus in Natale Martyrum Scillitanorim In Basilica Novarum Ubi Dicit: Mulierem Fortem Quis Inveniet Source: Migne PL 38.226-227

Her lamp is not put out all night long. 1 'Nobody lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel.' 'You will light up my lamp, O Lord.' 2 Her lamp is her hope. Everyone works by its light, at whatever good they do in hope, and this lamp burns in the night. If we do not see what we hope for it is night, but if we do not see and we do not hope it is night and the lamp is not lit. What could be more wretched than such darkness? That we do not perish in the dark, but that with patience we may wait for that which we hope for and is not yet seen, let our lamp burn through the whole night. He who speaks the word to us every day is as one who pours in oil to save the lamp from guttering. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 37, Given in the New Market Basilica on the Birthday of The Scillitan Martyrs, Where it says, 'A strong woman who will find?' 1 Prov 31.18 2 Mt 5.15, Ps 17.29

Hope And Confidence

Exspectemus itaque cum fiducia, fratres, Salvatoris adventum. Certus sum, inquit, quia apparebit in fine,et non mentietur. Si moram fecerit: exspectabo eum. Sed et ille qui mandat salutes Jacob, salutat per Oseam propheam amicam suam Ecclesiam, quam sibi desponsavit in fide, et consolatur eam: et ut confidat in ea cor viri sui, docet qualiter eum debeat exspectare: Dies multos, inquit, exspectabis me, non fornicaberis: et non eris cum amatore alieno. Ab antiquis diebus dicta sunt haec, fratres. Unde et Isaias dicit: Nonne Dominus venit de longinquo? Nos autem sumus, in quos fins saeculi devenerunt. Ideoque in proximo est ut veniat: Sponsus, ut veniat rex noster, legifer noster. Cito enim veniet, et non tardabit. Et nos ergo similes hominibus expectantibus dominum suum, faciamus quod praecipit, ut non fornicemur, ut non sequamur alios amatores. Fallax amator est mundus; animabus proditoria deceptione illudit. Hic est Sichem filius Hemor, qui Dinam filiam Jacob raptam et corruptam balnditiis lenit. Misera enim anima abstracta et illecta a concupiscentiis suis, dum mundo et diabolo consentiens fornicatur a Domino, primam fidem irritam facit, atque in passione desideriorum et peremptoria voluptate seipsam Deo abnegat. Dolosos amatores, quia praesentialiter se offerunt, sequitur; et Dominum gloriae Christum Jesum sponsum et salvatorem suum juste, pie et sobrie non exspectat. Nos itaque juxta consilium Apostoli, sobrie, et juste, et pie vivamus in hoc s aeculo, exspectantes beatem spem, et advetum gloriae magni Dei. Est pietas hominis ad Dominum, justitia ad proximum, sobrietas ad seipsum. Perniciosus est nobis Adventus Domini, nisi ipsum cum pietate et sobrietate et justitia exspectemus. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo III, De Advento Domini Source: Migne PL 207.568d-569b

Let us hope with confidence in the Lord's advent, brothers.'I am certain,' he says, 'that He shall appear in the end, and He does not lie. If He delays, I shall expect Him.' 1 But even He who commands greetings to Jacob, gives greetings in Hosea the prophet to his friend the Church which is espoused to Him in faith, and consoles her, even that she should have confidence in the heart of her man, thus also teaching that she should expect Him. 'Many days,' he says, you shall expect me, and you shall not fornicate, and you shall not go with another lover.' 2 These things were said in the days of old, brothers. Whence even Isaiah says, 'Shall not the Lord come from afar?' 3 And we are those, brothers, on whom the final days have come. 4 Therefore He comes as to a neighbour, as the Bridegroom, and as our king He comes, and as our legislator. For quickly He shall come, and He shall not delay. And we, therefore, like men who await their master, should do what He commands, and thus not fornicate or go off with other lovers. The world is a false lover. It deceives with the traitorous deceptions, and is as Sichem the son of Hemor, who with blandishments seized and corrupted Dinah. 5 Wretched it is to have the soul carried off in the snares of such desires, and to consent while apart from the Lord to fornicate with the world and with the devil, making one's first faith a burden, and in the passions of desire and the demands of pleasure forsaking God. Woeful are the lovers who follow those who presently offer themselves, and do not expect the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ the bridegroom, and their Saviour, in justice, piety and sobriety. For thus according to the counsel of the Apostle, 'in sobriety, and justice, and piety let us live in this world, hoping with a blessed hope, even for the coming of the Lord of great glory.' 6 The piety of a man is for the Lord, justice is for his neighbour, and sobriety is for himself. The advent of the Lord is wicked for us unless we expect Him in piety and sobriety and justice. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 3, On The Advent of the Lord 1 Hab 2.3 2 Hosea 3.3 3 Isaiah 30.27 4 1 Cor 10.11 5 Genes 34 6 Tit 2.12-13

Nothing Better

Deprehendi, nihil esse melius, quam laetari hominem in opere suo. Id est, praesentialiter delectari, sicut carnales faciunt, de quibus Isaiae quinquagesimo sexto: Venite, sumamus vinum et impleamur ebrietate, et erit sicut hodie, sic et cras et multo amplius. Et ista commendatio est erronea, quia non ponit aliam remunerationem nec aliam vitam; unde subdit: Et hanc esse partem illius, quasi nihil aliud exspectet; unde Isaiae vigesimo secundo in persona talium dicitur: Comedamus et bibamus; cras enim moriemur; et Sapientiae secundo: Ubique relinquamus signa laetitiae, quoniam haec est pars nostra, et haec est sors. Et erronea opinio ista ortum suum habet a iudicii incertitudine; propter quod dicit: Quis enim eum adducet, ut post se futura cognoscat? id est, quis ostendet illi, quod futura sint atque bona, quae debeat exspectare? quasi dicat: nullus. Et certe nullus persuadebit, nisi elevetur ad spiritualia contemplanda; non contemplantibus nobis, quae videntur, sed quae non videntur; quae enim videntur temporalia sunt, quae autem non videntur, aeterna, secundae ad Corinthios quarto. Quia vero carnalis homo non respicit nisi visibilia, ideo non exspectat aeterna; ideo primae ad Corinthios secundo: Animalis homo non percipit ea quae Dei sunt. Ideo si vult futura bona cognoscere, necesse est carnalitatem deponere. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Ecclesiasten, Caput III Source: Here, p36

And I found there was nothing better than for a man to rejoice in his work... 1 That is, to delight in present things, as worldly men do, concerning whom it says in the forty sixth chapter of Isaiah, 'Come, let us take up wine and let us be filled with drunkenness, and today shall be like tomorrow and many more.' Thus commendation is erroneous, because it does not consider any other reward nor any other life, whence he adds here, 'And this is his lot.' because they hope for nothing else, as in the twenty second chapter of Isaiah, in the person of such people it is written, 'Let us eat and let us drink, for tomorrow we must die.' 2 And in the second chapter of Wisdom, 'Let us leave signs of our joy everywhere, because this is our part and this is our fate.' 3 This erroneous opinion has arisen from uncertainty in judgement, because of which it is then said here, 'For who shall guide him that he might know the things of the future after him?' 1 That is, who shall reveal to him the future and the things he should expect? As if he said, 'No one'. Certainly no one will be persuaded unless they are lifted up to the contemplation of spiritual things. 'Our contemplation is not of what is seen but of what is not seen, for what is seen is transitory but what is not seen is eternal.' says the fourth chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians. 4 But because worldly men see nothing but visible things, therefore they do not expect eternal things, and thus in the second chapter of first letter to the Corinthians, 'The animal man does not grasp the things which are of God.' 5 Therefore if a man wishes to know future goods he must be rid of worldliness. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3 1 Eccles 3,22 2 Isaiah 46.12, 22,13 3 Wisd 2.9 4 2 Cor 4.18 5 1 Cor 2.14

Suffering And Blessings

Mακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν Τίς οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅσῳ τοῦ ἀγαπᾶσθαι τὸ ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι χαλεπώτερον κέκριται; Τοῦτο µέν τοι πολλάκις τὸ δοκοῦν χαλεπὸν, καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον εὐκληρίας πολλοῖς αἴτιον γίνεται, οἷον περὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ὁ λόγος ἐνδείκνυται· ὃς ἐπιβουλευθεὶς παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ τῆς µετ' αὐτῶν συν διαγωγῆς ἀπελαθεὶς, διὰ τῆς πράσεως βασιλεὺς ἀν εδείχθη τῶν ἐπιβεβουλευκότων, οὐκ ἂν ἴσως προελθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ τηλικοῦτον ἀξίωµα, µὴ τοῦ φθόνου διὰ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἐκείνης τὴν βασιλείαν ὁδοποιήσαντος. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν εἴ τις τοῦ µέλλοντος τὴν γνῶσιν ἔχων, προεῖπε τῷ Ἰωσὴφ, ὅτι Ἐπιβουλευθεὶς µακάριος ἔσῃ, οὐκ ἂν ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου πιθανὸς ἔδοξε τῷ ἀκούοντι, πρὸς τὸ παραχρῆµα λυπηρὸν ὁρῶντι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ᾠήθη δυνατὸν εἶναι κακῆς προαιρέσεως ἀγαθὸν ἀνα δειχθῆναι τὸ πέρας· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ τῶν τυράννων τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐπαγόµενος διωγµὸς, πολὺ κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν τὸ ἀλγεινὸν ἔχων, δυσπαράδεκτον ποιεῖ τοῖς σαρκωδεστέροις τὴν διὰ τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αὐτοῖς προκειµένην τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδα· ἀλλ' ὁ Κύριος τὸ σαθρὸν ὑπεριδὼν τῆς φύσεως, προαναφωνεῖ τοῖς ἀσθενεστέροις, οἷόν ἐστι τῆς ἀγωνίας τὸ πέρας, ἵνα τῇ τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίδι τὴν πρόσκαιρον τῶν ἀλγεινῶν αἴσθησιν εὐκόλως καταπαλαίσωσιν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Λόγος Ηʹ Source: Migne PG 44.1296a-b

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 1 Who does not know how more difficult it is to bear if instead of being loved we are schemed against? Yet often what seems hard becomes a cause of happiness for many even in this life, which is shown in the story of Joseph, he who was plotted against by his brothers and they expelled him from their company, but because of this he became the king of those who had plotted, 1 and perhaps he would not have attained to such great dignity had not the envy of the plotters made a way for that kingdom. If, then, someone who had knowledge of the future had told Joseph, 'You are being plotted against, you will be blessed,' it would not have appeared immediately believable to him who heard, for looking only to present distress, he would not have thought it possible that evil purpose could reach a good end. So here the persecution of the faithful by tyrants, in which there is much material pain, makes it difficult for those who are more worldly minded to admit the hope of the kingdom that is to be brought forth by these pains, but the Lord, looking down on the infirmity of our nature, foretells to the weak what the goal of the struggle is, so that with hope of the kingdom they more easily triumph over the transient feelings of pain. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Eighth Oration 1 Mt 5.10 2 Gen 37-45

Desire, Hope And Ruin

Tελευτήσαντος ἀνδρὸς δικαίου οὐκ ὄλλυται ἐλπίς τὸ δὲ καύχημα τῶν ἀσεβῶν ὄλλυται. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐ τὸ ἐπιθυμεῖν πονηρὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοιῶσδε ἐπιθυμεῖν, πονηρόν; Τῶν δὲ ἀσεδῶν kαὶ ἐλπίδες πονηραί’ πᾶν γὰρ ὃ ἐλπίσει, ἀπὠλεια. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Παροιμιας, Κεφ' IA’ Source: Migne PG 39.1633b

The death of the righteous man does not destroy hope, but the pride of the godless is ruined. 1 Do you see that it is not desire that is wicked, but the type of desire? And the hope of the godless is wicked, for everything they hope for is ruinous. Didymus the Blind, Commentary On Proverbs, Chapter 11 1 Prov 11.7 LXX

The Trinity And Virtue

Perfectio namque hujus vitae non alia est quam per fidem, spem et charitatem, perfecte quae retro sunt oblivisci, et in ea extendi quae ante sunt. Nam et Apostolus hoc dicit: Quotquot, inquit, perfecti sumus, hoc sapiamus. Quicunque ergo vere quaerunt Deum Trinitatem, trium virtutum harum affectent in semetipsis habere trinitatem, et conformare se studeant ad earum disciplinam. Conscientia earum paradisus voluptatis est, pollens affluentia gratiarum, et castis sanctarum deliciis virtutum; ubi homo incola paradisi ipsius cum Deo conversatur; et saepe eum videt, semper ab eo videtur, saepe cum eo loquitur. Tres autem cardinales istae virtutes ubi sunt, ad aliquam similudinem Trinitatis Dei sic sibi invicem connexae sunt et conjunctae, ut sint singulae in omnibus, et omnes in singulis; ut quod, et quantum, et quomodo, quid credit; hoc etiam, et tantum, et eo modo speret et amet: sic etiam speret, quod credit et amat; et amet, quod credit et sperat. Fides enim nomen virtutis est, et magnae et eximiae virtutis. Sed fides quae spem et charitatem non habet, virtus est. Sic enim et daemones credunt, et homines, qui sicut daemones credunt, nisi quod pejores esse videntur ipsis daemonibus homines quidam, in eo quod homines nec timent, ubi daemones contremiscunt. Certamque esse fidem oportet, ut certa sit spes, certa charitatis. Sicut enim recte credi non potest sine spe, nec sperari nisi praecedente fide, sic nec alterius formae spes esse potest quam fides. Creditum quipper bonum suum spei format appetitum, cum credita bonitas crediti dat fiduciam sperandi. Ad similitudinem ergo summae Trinitatis sicut fides spem gignit, sic charitatis ab utroque, hoc est a fide et spe procedit, cum non potest non amari quod creditur et speratur; et eodem utique modo amari, quo creditur et speratur. Sicut enim ibi tres personae coaeternae sibi sunt et consubstantiales, ita et hic fides, spes, charitas, non tempore alia prior, alia posterior est, quantum ad virtutis substantiam quodammmodo consubstantiales licet videantur habere secundum formam differentis affectius, quasi differentias quasdam personales. Guillelmus S Theodorici Abbas, Speculum Fidei Source: Migne PG 180.367b-368a

The perfection of this life is nothing other than by faith, hope and charity, the things behind being completely forgotten in reaching for those things ahead. For as the Apostle says, 'However many of us are perfect, this we shall know. ' 1 Whoever, then, seeks the Divine Trinity desires to have in himself this trinity of virtues, and he is eager to conform himself to their discipline. The awareness of them is the paradise of joys, strong with the abundance of grace and with the chaste delights of the holy virtues, where man placed in paradise dwelt with God, and often he sees Him, and he is always seen by Him, and he often speaks to Him. Now as the three cardinal virtues have a certain similitude to the divine Trinity, so it is that they are in themselves connected and joined, each one being in all, and all in each, so that as much and how someone believes, with this and only with this, is the way he hopes and loves. For faith is the name of a virtue, and it is a great and wonderful virtue, but the faith which does not have hope and charity is no virtue. As demons believe, so even men who are like demons believe, unless they seem to be worse than demons and thus are men who have no fear, whereas demons tremble. 1 It is necessary that faith be certain, that hope be certain, and love be certain. For as one cannot believe rightly without hope, nor can one hope unless faith precedes, and so there is no other way for there to be hope but with faith. Certainly a believed good forms the appetite of hope, for the good that is believed gives confidence to hope in the believing. In the likeness, then, of the Holy Trinity faith begets hope, and love comes from both, that is, it proceeds from faith and hope, since it is impossible not to love what we believe in and hope for, whence in the same way one loves what is believed in and is hoped for. So as there are three coeternal and consubstantial persons, so it is with faith and hope and charity, one is not earlier or later in time, but as much as the substance of the virtue is consubstantial yet they have a difference of form, just as it is with the differences of the Divine persons. William of St Thierry, The Mirror of Faith 1 1 Cor 13.13, Phil 3.13-15 2 James 2.19

Waiting For Joy

Sed quando ad hoc perveniemus? Quando adimplebis me, Domine, laetitia cum vultu tuo? Gaudemus in te, quoniam visitasti nos oriens ex alto; iterum gaudemus, exspectantes beatam spem in adventu secundo. Sed quando veniet plenitudo laetitiae, non de memoria, sed de praesentia; de exhibitione, non de exspectatione? Modestia vestra, ait Apostolus, nota sit omnibus hominibus; Dominus prope est. Dignum est enim ut modestia nostra nota sit, sicut Domini Dei nostri modestia cunctis innotuit. Quid enim magis incongruum, quam ut immoderate agat homo, conscius propriae infirmitatis, quandoquidem apparuit inter homines modestus Dominus majestatis? Discite, inquit, a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde, ut possit etiam modestia vestra innotescere caeteris. Jam quod sequitur, Dominus prope est, de dextera debet intelligi. Nam de sinistra ipse loquitur: Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi. Prope est Dominus, fratres mei, nihil solliciti sitis: in proximo est, et citius apparebit. Nolite deficere, nolite lassari: quaerite eum dum inveniri potest, invocate eum dum prope est. Prope est Dominus his qui tribulato sunt corde: prope est exspectantibus eum, exspectantibus eum in veritate. Denique vis nosse quam prope est? Audi sponsam de sponso canentem: Quoniam ecce stat post parietem. Parietem istum, corpus tuum intellige, quod obstaculum impedit, ut eum qui prope est, nondum valeas intueri. Propterea Paulus ipse dissolvi cupit, et cum Christo esse, et exclamans miserabilius: Infelix, inquit, ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? Sic et propheta in Psalmo: Educ, inquit, de carcere animam meam, ad confitendum nomini tuo. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Vigilia Nativitatis Domini, Sermo IV Source: Migne PL 183.105a-c

But when shall we come to this. 'When shall you fill me, O Lord, with the joy of your face?' 1 We rejoice in you, because you have visited us, rising from the height, and again we rejoice because in blessed hope we wait for your second coming. But when shall come that fullness of joy that is not in the memory but present, that is revealed and not expected? The Apostle says, 'May your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is near.' 2 For our modesty merits to be made known, as the modesty of our Lord God was made known to everyone. What indeed is more incongruous than a man should act immoderately, conscious of his own infirmity, when the majestic Lord appeared modest among men? 'Learn from me,' he said, 'because I am meek and humble in heart.' 3 So may your modesty be known to all others. And know what follows, 'The Lord is near,' should be understood as the right hand. For concerning the left hand it is said, 'Behold I am with you every day until the end of the age.' 4 The Lord is near, my brothers, and you should not fret. He is near and very soon He will appear. Do not grow weary, do not slacken, seek Him while he can be found, call on Him while He is near. 'The Lord is near to those who are troubled in their hearts,' 5 He is near to those who wait for Him, to those who hope for Him in truth. Do you wish to know how near He is? Hear the bride singing to the bridegroom: 'Behold, he stands behind the wall.' 6 This wall is to be understood as your body because it is an obstacle which prevents you from being able to see Him who is near. Because of which Paul desires to be dissolved and to be with Christ. 7 and cries out most miserably, 'I am an unhappy man, who shall free me from this body of death?' And the prophet in the Psalm says, 'Lead my soul from prison, to take joy in your name.' 8 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, On the Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord, from Sermon 4 1 Ps 15.10 2 Phil 4.5 3 Mt 11.29 4 Mt 28.20 5 Ps 33.19 6 Song 2.9 7 Phil 1.23 8 Rom 7.24, Ps 141.8

Resurrection And Ascension

Secundum quod Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis, nutritus crevit. Passus, mortuus et resuscitatus accepit hereditatem regnum caelorum. In ipso homine accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternam. In ipso homine accepit. In Verbo autem non accepit, quia incommutabiliter manet ab aeterno in aeternum. Quia ergo accepit resurrectionem et vitam aeternam caro illa, quae resurrexit et vivificata ascendit in caelum, hoc nobis promissum est. Ipsam hereditatem exspectamus, vitam aeternam. Adhuc enim non totum corpus accepit, quia caput in caelo est, membra adhuc in terra sunt. Nec caput solum accepturum est hereditatem, et corpus relinquetur. Totus Christus accepturus est hereditatem, totus secundum hominem, id est, caput et corpus. Membra ergo Christi sumus, speremus hereditatem. Quia cum ista omnia transierint, hoc bonum accepturi sumus quod non transibit, et hoc malum evasuri quod non transibit. Aeterna sunt enim utraque. Non enim aliquid non aeternum promisit suis, et aliquid temporale minatus est impiis. Quomodo vitam beatitudinem, regnum, hereditatem sempiternam sine fine promisit sanctis, sic ignem aeternum minatus est impiis. Si quod promisit nondum amamus, saltim quod minatus est timeamus. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Sermo XXII, De Psalmo LXVII Source: Migne PL 38.154-155

Inasmuch as 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,' 1 He was nourished and grew. Having suffered, died and risen again, He received as His inheritance the kingdom of heaven. It was as man that He received resurrection and eternal life. As a man he received it. But as the Word He did not receive it, because the Word abides unchangingly forever. Therefore because it was that flesh that received the resurrection and eternal life, rising again and ascending into heaven revivified, this is also promised to us. We are waiting for that same inheritance of eternal life. The whole body has not yet received it because the head is in heaven and the members yet remain on earth. But it is not that the head is going to receive the inheritance alone and abandon the body. The whole Christ shall receive the inheritance, the whole as man, that is, both the head and the body. Thus we who are members of Christ should hope for the inheritance. Because when all this has passed away we will receive that good which will not pass away and avoid that evil which will not pass away. Both are eternal. He did not promise something eternal to His own and threaten the wicked with something temporal. Just as He promised those who are holy the blessed life and the kingdom as an eternal inheritance without end, so He threatened the wicked with eternal fire. If we do not yet love what He promised, let us at least fear what He threatened. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 22, On Psalm 67 1 Jn 1.14

The First And Eighth Beatitude

Octava nihil est, nisi prima repetita. Unde et eamdem remunerationem habet cum prima. Sed agamus nunc de remunerationibus. Pauperibus promittitur regnum coelorum, quia majus non potest haberi quam illud, quod est commune et generale praemium. Sed quum in octava eadem retributio repetatur, differre tamen intelligendum est. Sic enim intelligitur: Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum. Qui abdicant terrena, eorum est jam regnum coelorum in spe, et si in purgatorio igne quidam horum ad horam purgantur, tamen non ambigunt se recepturos regnum coelorum. Qui autem patiuntur persecutionem, habent regnum coelorum, non tantum in spe, sed etiam in re. Qui enim moriuntur pro Christo, statim ascendunt in coelum. Hoc ideo ita legitur, non quod utrique non recipiant in re regnum coelorum, sed ut designetur quanta differentia est inter illum, quia habet in spe, et illum qui habet in re, tanta differentia est retributionis illius qui non patitur, et illius qui patitur. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput V Source: Migne PL 162.1289a-b

The eighth beatitude 1 is nothing but a repetition of the first, whence it has the same reward as the first. But let us now look into the rewards. The kingdom of heaven is promised to the poor, because it is not possible to have anything greater than it, which is the common and general reward. But the same reward repeated in the eighth beatitude must be understood to differ. For with 'Blessed are the poor of spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven,' is understood those who forsake worldly things, and theirs is the kingdom of heaven in hope, and even if they must be purified in the fire of purgatory for a time, they do not doubt they shall be received into the kingdom of heaven. But those who suffer persecution, they have the kingdom of heaven in that, and not only in hope, for those who die for Christ instantly ascend to heaven. It should be read, then, in this way: that it is not that both receive the kingdom of heaven immediately truth, but there is much difference between the one who possesses in hope, and the one who possesses in truth, so great is the difference between the reward of the one who does not suffer, and the one who does. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.10

Fear And Hope

Ab auditu malo non timebit, paratum est cor ejus sperare in Domino... Illum auditum malum dicit, quem audituri sunt impii: Ite in ignem aeternum, et reliqua. Malus enim illis videtur qui justa serveritate plectendi sunt: quia fas dicit non est, nisi justum Domini semper esse judicum. Et ne solum beatos putares poenas noxias non timere, sequitur, paratum cor ejus sperare in Domino, ut promissa ipsius percipiant, qui saeculi illecebras ejus juvamine calcaverunt; quibus ipse dicturus est: Venite benediti Patris mei, percipite regnum quod vobis paratum est ab origine mundi. Cor autem positum est pro rectae mentis affectu, quod sine aliqua cunctatione promissa novit expetere. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXI Source: Migne PL 70.806d

He shall not fear the hearing of evil, his heart is prepared to hope in the Lord... 1 He speaks of that hearing of evil that the wicked will hear: 'Go into eternal fire,' 2 and the rest. For it seems evil to them that they are struck with just severity, because one does not speak rightly unless that the judgement of the Lord is always just. And lest you might think that the blessed lack only that fear of woeful punishments, he continues: 'his heart is prepared to hope in the Lord,' that receiving His promises, with His help, they crush down worldly snares, to whom He shall then say, 'Come blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world.' 3 For the heart established in the disposition of a right mind knows how to have hope in the promises without any hesitation. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 111 1 Ps 111.7 2 Mt 25.41 3 Mt 25.34

Grief And Hope

Nolumus autem vos ignorare, fratres, de iis qui dormiunt; ne contristemini, sicut et caeteri qui spem non habent. Nam si credimus quod Jesus mortuus est et resurrexit, sic et Deus illos, qui dormierunt per Jesum adducet cum eo. Manifesta est ratio, quia si resurrectio creditur mortuorum futura, non sunt lugendi, qui cum signo crucis exeunt. Lugendi autem vere sunt infideles, qui hinc transeunt in gehennam; ut ediscant verum esse, quod credere noluerunt. Fideles autem resurgent ad gloriam, ut qui in saeculo stulti habiti sunt propter fidem, videantur prudentes; providerunt enim sibi gloriam. Hi sunt qui per Jesum, id est, sub spe fidei hujus exeuntes, adducentur cum eo in adventu ejus; ut ab hominibus videantur. Cum tamen ipse defuncti excessum lugendum prohibeat, ipse alibi dicit: Ne tristitiam haberem. Sed jam suo loco solutum est. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Thessalonicenses Primam Caput IV Source: Migne PL 17.449d-450a

We do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, so that you are not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so God will bring with Him even those who have slept through Jesus. 1 The reason is obvious, because if there is belief in the future resurrection of the dead, then they who depart with the sign of the cross should not be mourned. In truth mourning is for the faithless, who pass from here into hell, that there they learn the truth they refused to believe in here. But the faithful shall rise to glory, so that those who in the world lived as fools on account of faith, shall appear wise, for they foresaw glory for themselves. These who depart through Jesus, in the hope of faith in Him, shall attend Him in His coming, so that they will be seen by men. However when here he prohibits them to mourn excessively for the dead, he says elsewhere: 'Lest I be sorrowful.' 2 And now in this passage the matter is resolved. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Thessalonians, Chapter 4 1 1 Thes 4.12-13 2 Phil 2.27

Suffering And Understanding

Propter quod non sustinentes amplius, placuit nobis remanere Athenis, solis: et misimus Timotheum fratrem nostrum, et ministrum Dei in Evangelio Christi, ad confirmandos vos, et exhortandos pro fide vestra: ut nemo moveatur in tribulationibus istis : ipsi enim scitis quod in hoc positi sumus. Nam et cum apud vos essemus, praedicebamus vobis passuros nos tribulationes, sicut et factum est, et scitis. Desiderii supra memorati causas expressit. Idcirco enim praesentes esse apud eos volebant, ita animas eorum firmarent; ne quis ex his scandalum pateretur de pressuris apostolorum, ut qui tanta signa facerent, aliquando infirmarentur; ita humiliati, ut verberibus et vinculis subjicerentur. Ad quam rem excusandam Timotheum missum testatur idoneum doctorem, qui ostenderet hinc merita crescere christianis, si pro nomine Domini passi gratias agant, a quo hujus rei mercedem exspectant, simulque preces Deo funderunt, ut stabiles essent. Quam persecutionem idcirco se passuos praedicaverant; ut per id quod praescientiam hujus rei habere se protestarentur, posses se effuere et declinare has injurias approbarent: sed quia spes magna in his est, ideo dicit illatas sufferre quidem libenter Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Thessalonicenses Primam Caput III Source: Migne PL 17.447a-b

For which reason, when we could bear it no longer, we thought it good to remain at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and servant of God in the Gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and exhort you concerning your faith, that no one should be moved by these tribulations, for yourselves know that this is our lot, for even when we were with you we preached that we would suffer afflictions, just as it has come to pass, and you know. 1 He speaks of the reasons for the desire mentioned. For they wished to be present with them that they might strengthen their souls, lest some scandal be suffered because of the affliction of the Apostles, that they who made such great signs, at another time were weak, and humiliated, so that they were subject to blows and chains. To which he bears witness he sent the capable teacher Timothy to explain the matter, he who was to show how merit increases for Christians if suffering for the name of the Lord they give thanks, by which they may hope for a reward for these things, and at the same time pour forth prayers, that they might remain firm. And this perseuction which they were to suffer they had preached about, so that because of this prescience of the things which they had declared they would have, it were possible they might have approved flight and refusal of these injuries, but because there is great hope in these things, therefore he says that they willingly suffered what came upon them. Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Thessalonians, Chapter 3 1 1 Thes 3.1-4

Apostles And Servants

Quid igitur est Apollo? Quid vero Paulus? Ministri ejus, cui credidistis. Ut quia ministri sunt spes in his non sit, sed in Deo, cujus ministri sunt. Illi enim gratiarum actio deferenda est, cujus donum est; hi vero servi, quos etiam invitos oportet. Numquid non Moyses coactus est ire ad Pharaonem; et Jonas invitius missus est praedicare Ninivitis, et Ananias contradicens missus est Saulo manum imponere? Et unicuique sicut Dominus dedit. Id est, sicut voluit, et scivit?, divisit singulis efficia ministerii Ego plantavi, Apollo rigavit, sed Deus incrementum dedit. Plantare est evangelizare, et ad fidem attrahere: rigare vero, baptizare solemnibus verbis: peccata autem dimittere, et Spiritum dare, Dei solius. Si ergo effectum salutis Deus dat, nulla gloria in hac re hominis est. Scimus enim et Spiritum sanctum sine manus impositione datum a Deo, et non baptizatum consecutum remissionem peccatorum. Numquid non hic invisibiliter baptizatus est, quanod baptismatis consecutus est? Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Corinthios Primam, Caput I Source: Migne PL 17.198c-199a

What, then, is Apollos? What Paul? His servants, of the One you have believed in...1 So that because they are servants there should be no hope placed in them but rather in God whose servants they are. To Him thanksgiving should be given, to Him who gives the gift. They are servants, and even if they are unwilling. Did not Moses go under constraint to Pharaoh? Was not Jonah unwilling when he was sent to preach to the Ninivites? And did not Ananias protest when he was sent to place his hands on Saul? 2 And as the Lord gives to each one... That is, as He wishes and knows, He distributes to each one useful services. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth... To plant is to evangelise, and to draw to the faith. To water is to baptise with solemn words. But to forgive sins and to give the Spirit belongs to God alone. If therefore God gives the reward of salvation, there is no glory in it for a man. For we know the Holy Spirit has been given by God without the placing on of hands, and that forgiveness of sins has been given without baptism. Is it not that he has been baptised invisibly when that which belongs to baptism follows? Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The First Letter of Saint Paul To The Corinthians, Chapter 1 1 1 Cor 3.5 2 Exod 3.18-4.17, Jonah 1.1-3, Acts 9.10-19

Knowledge And The Tree

Et scire justitiam et virtutem tuam, radix est immortalitatis. Radix, id est arboris spiritualis, id est vitae iusti qui est sicut lignum plantatum secus decursus aquarum etc. Radix est fides, ut hic dicitur. Pes, humilitas, sicut e contrario pes impiorum est superbia, secundum illud Psalmi: Non veniat mihi pes superbiae. Stipes, in altum se erigens, est spes; ad Colossenses tertio: Quae sursum sunt quaerite. Humor interior et viriditas huius arboris est gratiainternae devotionis; lob octavo: Nunquid potest virere scirpus absque humore? Calor dirigens est virtus caritatis; Lucae duodecimo: Ignem veni mittere in terram etc. Exterior irrigatio, doctrina spiritualis; unde Sapientia dicit Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: Rigabo hortum plantationum mearum. Rami, multiplicatio bonae operationis; Ezechielis trigesimo sexto: Montes Israel, ramos vestros expandite. Flores , mores honestae conversationis ; unde Canticorum secundo: Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra. Folia, verba discretae locutionis, secundum illud Psalmi: Et folium eius non defluet. Fructus, merces aeternae retributionis; supra tertio: Bonorum laborum gloriosus est fructus. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput XV Source: Here, 411d-412a

And to know your righteousness and virtue is the root of immortality... 1 'The root,' that is, of the spiritual tree, that is, of the life of the righteous man, who is like 'a tree planted beside flowing waters,' etc, 2 and the root is faith, as it says here. The base of the tree is humility, just as, on the contrary, the foot of the impious is pride, according to the Psalm: 'May the foot of the proud not be mine.' 3 The trunk is what rises up to the heights, which is hope. In the third chapter of Colossians: 'Seek the things which are above.' 4 The interior sap and greeness of this tree is the grace of internal devotion. In the eighth chapter of Job: 'Can a reed live without moisture?' 5 The heat which fuels growth is the power of love. In the twelfth chapter of Luke: 'I have come to place fire on the earth.' 6 Exterior watering is spiritual teaching, whence Wisdom says in the twenty fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'I shall water the garden of my plantings.' 7 The branches are the multiplication of good works. In the thirty six chapter of Ezekiel: 'Mountains of Israel, put forth your branches.' 8 Blossom is the way of upright living, whence in the second chapter of the Song of Songs: 'The blossom appears in our land.' 9 Leaves are the words of wise speech, according to the Psalm: 'And its leaves shall not wither.' 10 The fruit is the giving of the eternal reward, concerning which above in the third chapter it says: 'Glorious is the fruit of good works.' 11 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 15 1 Wisdom 6.24 2 Ps 1.3 3 Ps 35.12 4 Col 3.1 5 Job 8.11 6 Lk 12.49 7 Sirach 24.42 8 Ezek 36.8 9 Song 2.12 10 Ps 1.3 11 Wisdom 3.15

The Poor Man's Refuge

Kαὶ ἐγένετο Kύριος καταφυγὴ τῷ πένητι βοηθὸς ἐν εὐκαιρίαις ἐν θλίψει. Kαὶ ἐλπισάτωσαν ἐπὶ σὲ οἱ γινώσκοντες τὸ ὄνομά σου ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπες τοὺς ἐκζητοῦντάς σε, Kύριε Ποίῳ δὲ πένητι καταφυγὴ γέγονεν ὁ κριτὴς, ἢ τῷ κατὰ τὸν πρῶτον βίον τὴν στενὴν ὠδευκότι καὶ τεθλιμμένην, καὶ τῷ μακαριζομένῳ πτωχῷ, δηλονότι τῷ πνεύματι; Τοῦτο δὲ μαθόντες οἱ γινώσκοντες τὸ ὄνομα σου, καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῷ τῆς δικαιοκρισίας καιρῷ τοὺς ἐκζητοῦντες σε νῦν οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις, ἐντεῦθεν ἐλπιζέτωσαν ἐπὶ σὲ πάντα διὰ τὰς ἀμοιβὰς ὑπομένοντες. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς Θ’ Source: Migne PG 23.132d-133a

And the Lord is made a refuge for the poor man, a helper in good time, in tribulation. And they hope in you who know your name, because you do not forsake those who seek you, O Lord. 1 To which poor man is the judge made a refuge, unless the one who has entered upon the course of the difficult and narrow way, and to that blessed poor man who is clearly so in the spirit? 2 And those who know your name, learning this, even that your just judgements in good time will not forsake those who seek you, so they hope in you, enduring all things for the reward. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 9 1 Ps 9.10-11 2 Mt 7.13, 5.3

Hope For The Future

Et promissa ipsius exspectamus, in quibus justitia habitat. Justitia habitat in futuro saeculo, quia tunc cuique fidelium pro modo sui certaminis reddetur corona justitiae, quod in hac vita nequaquam fieri potest, juxta illud Salomonis: Vidi sub sole in loco judicii impietatem, et in loco justitiae iniquitatem. Et dixi in corde meo: Justum et impium judicabit Deus, et tempus omni rei tunc erit. Et iterum: Vidi, inquit, calumnias quae sub sole geruntur, et lacrymas innocentium, et consolatorem neminem, nec posse resistere eorum violentiae cunctorum auxilio destitutos, et laudavi magis mortuos quam viventes. Ideo namque magis mortuos innocentes quam viventes laudavit, quia illi adhuc in certamine positi, isti autem perpetuae beatitudinis sunt mercede donati. Ideo autem sub sole calumnias se vidisse querebatur, quia supra solem noverat Judicem esse justum, qui in altis habitat, et humilia respicit, supra solem mansiones in quibus justi debita justitiae suae praemia percipiant. Potest hoc quod ait: in quibus justitia habitat, etiam juxta illud Psalmistae intelligi: Haec porta Domini, justi intrabunt per eam. Et in Apocalypsi, de civitate superna Joannes: Nec intrabit in eam, inquit, aliquid coinquinatum et faciens abominationem et mendacium, nisi qui scripti sunt in libro vitae Agni. Sancta Beda, In II Epistolam Sancti Petri, Caput III Source: Migne PL 93.82d-83b

And let us hope for His promises, in which justice dwells. 1 Justice dwells in the future age, because then shall be given to each of the faithful a crown of righteousness because of his struggle, which is not at all possible in this life. As Solomon says: 'I saw beneath the sun wickedness in the place of judgement, and in the place of righteousness iniquity, and I said in my heart, God shall judge the just man and the impious man, and then shall be the time of every thing.' 2 And again he says, 'I saw wrongs done beneath the sun, and the tears of the innocent, and they had no one to comfort them, nor could they resist the violence of them, utterly destitute of help, and I praised the dead more than the living.' 3 Thus he praised the innocent dead more than the living because the latter are still involved in the struggle and the former have received the reward of eternal beatitude. Therefore, having looked on wrongs beneath the sun, he complains to himself because he knows that above the sun there is a righteous judge, who dwells in the heights, 'who looks down on the humble,' 4 and there are those resting places above the the sun where the righteous receive the fitting reward of righteousness. 5 It is possible that when he says, 'in which justice dwells,' that it may be understood in the manner of Psalmist: 'This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter through it.' 6 And John says in the Apocalypse, concerning the heavenly city, 'They shall not enter into it who are defiled, and who make abominations, and who lie, but only those who are written in the book of life of the Lamb.' 7 Saint Bede, Commentary on the Second Letter of Peter, Chapter 3 1 2 Pet 3.13 2 Eccle 3.17 3 Eccle 4.2 4 Ps 112.5-6 5 Jn 14.1-2 6 Ps 117.20 7 Apoc 21.27

Desire And Longing

Ardorem desiderii Patrum suspirantium Christi a carne praesentiam frequentissime cogitans, compungor et confundor in memetipso; et nunc vix contineo lacrymas, ita pudet teporis torporisque miserabilium temporum horum. Cui namque nostrum tantum ingerat gaudium gratiae hujus exhibitio, quantum sanctis veteribus accenderat desiderium promissio? Ecce enim quam multi in hac ejus, quae proxime celebranda est, Nativitate gaudebunt! sed utinam de nativitate, non de vanitate! Illorum ergo desiderium flagrans et piae exspectationis affectum spirat mihi vox ista: Osculetur me osculo oris sui. Senserat nimirum in spiritu, quisquis tunc spiritualis esse poterat, quanta foret gratia diffusa in labiis illis. Propterea loquens in desiderio animae aiebat, Osculetur me osculo oris sui; nimirum omnimodis cupiens tantae suavitatis participio non fraudari. Dicebat enim perfectus quisque: Quo mihi ora haec seminiverbia prophetarum? Ipse potius speciosus forma prae filiis hominum, ipse me osculetur osculo oris sui. Non audio jam Moysen: impeditioris siquidem linguae factus est mihi. Isaiae labia immunda sunt: Jeremias nescit loqui, quia puer est: et Prophetae omnes elingues sunt. Ipse, ipse quem loquuntur, ipse loquatur: ipse me osculetur osculo oris sui. Non in eis jam, aut per eos loquatur mihi, quoniam tenebrosa aqua in nubibus aeris: sed ipse me osculetur osculo oris sui, cujus gratiosa praesentia, et admirandae fluenta doctrinae fiant in me fons aquae salientis in vitam aeternam. Quem unxit Pater oleo laetitiae prae consortibus suis, nunquid non ex ipso mihi uberior infunditur gratia? si tamen dignetur me osculari osculo oris sui. Cujus utique sermo vivus et efficax osculum mihi est, non quidem conjunctio labiorum, quae interdum pacem mentitur animorum; sed plane infusio gaudiorum, revelatio secretorum, mira quaedam et quodam modo indiscreta commixtio superni luminis et illuminatae mentis. Adhaerens quippe Deo, unus spiritus est. Merito proinde visiones et somnia non recipio, figuras et aenigmata nolo; ipsas quoque angelicas fastidio species. Quippe et ipsos longe superat Jesus meus specie sua et pulchritudine sua. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, In Cantica Canticorum, Sermo II, De Incarnatione Christi per patriarchas et prophetas nuntiata, et ardentissime ab eis exspectata. Source: Migne PL 183.789d-790c

Frequently thinking on the burning desire with which the patriarchs longed for the incarnate Christ, I am struck and confused in myself, and even now I can scarcely hold back my tears, so ashamed am I by the tepidity and torpor of these miserable times. For to which of us does the revelation of this favour bring as much joy as the promise of it inflamed the desire of the holy men of old? Behold how many will rejoice in this His nativity, the celebration of which is so near now, but how I wish it were inspired by His birth and not by vanity! Therefore their intense desire and longing of pious expectation is breathed in me by this voice: 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.' 1 Whoever was spiritual then sensed in his spirit how great was the grace that would be poured upon those lips. Because of which, speaking in the desire of his soul, he said: 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth,' desiring that he should not be deprived of participation in such great sweetness. For whoever was perfect would say: 'What to me are these verbose mouths of the prophets? Rather let him who is the fairest among the sons of men, let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Now I do not hear Moses, for he has become slow of tongue to me. 2 The lips of Isaiah are unclean. 3 Jeremiah does not know how to speak, because he is a child. 4 All the prophets lack eloquence. The one whom they proclaim, let him speak to me, 'let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.' Let Him not speak in them or through them anymore, because they are 'dark waters in the clouds of the air,' 5 but 'let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth,' whose presence is full of grace, and let those wondrous streams of teachings flow in me, a spring inside me, welling up to eternal life. 6 Shall I not be more abundantly infused with grace from Him whom the Father has anointed with the oil of joy above His associates, 7 if He finds me worthy of the kisses of His mouth? For His living and active word is a kiss to me, not indeed a joining of lips that can sometimes feign the peace of friends, but a full pouring in of joys and revelations of mysteries, and a wondrous and indistinguishable mixing of the Divine light and the illuminated mind. Certainly, when joined to God, the spirit is one. 8 Rightly, then, I reject visions and dreams and care not for parables and figures, I am even averse to the beauty of angels. For my Jesus far surpasses these in His splendour and beauty. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Commentary On The Song of Songs, from Sermon 2, On The Incarnation of Christ announced through the Patriarchs and the Prophets, and their burning hope. 1 Song 1.1 2 Exod 4.10 3 Isaiah 6.5 4 Jerem 1.6 5 Ps 17.12 6 Jn 4.14 7 Ps 44.8 8 1 Cor 5.17